Karageorgis aquitted of murder, manslaughter over curtain rod killing

A MAN accused of killing another with a wooden curtain rod in a 2008 street brawl yesterday walked free from the Supreme Court, acquitted of all charges.
Mario Nicholas Karageorgis (foto), 27, was accused of murdering Bradley Hawkesworth, 26, and the aggravated assault of his father Colin Hawkesworth.
The jury, which had been deliberating since Friday, found Karageorgis not guilty of murder, the lesser charge of manslaughter and aggravated assault.
The jury had heard the victim died after Karageorgis stabbed him with a curtain rod which went through his eye and penetrated his brain in December 2008.
As the verdict was read out, one woman in the gallery said “thank you” to the jury, while a man yelled “shame on you” at Mr Karageorgis.
The court previously heard Mr Karageorgis had gone to the defence of his wife after seeing her surrounded by a group of men on the street, one of whom was armed with a knife.
In his closing address to the jury, David Stokes, for Mr Karageorgis asked they each put themselves in Mr Karageorgis’ shoes.
“This is quick, people don’t have time for intellectual reflection, and I suggest this man did in the spur of the moment, what he thought was the right thing to do,” Mr Stokes said.
“What you see is three men and your wife . . . there is shouting. There is yelling. Your wife is screaming. There is some sort of conflict going on.”
He said Mr Karageorgis did not intend seriously harming or killing anyone.
“Would it not be within the realms of nature for some men, not all men . . . that some men would grab the nearest weapon they could to go in the defence of their partner?” he asked the jury.
Speaking after the verdict, Mr Stokes said his client was “intensely relieved”, but still affected by the incident.
“He is still emotionally disturbed and indeed distressed by the death of the other man on that evening,” Mr Stokes said.
(source: adelaide now)